The present invention relates to a disc brake, and more particularly to a structure for supporting the friction pads in a disc brake, in which a caliper body including a bridge section extending over a disc and first and second arm sections is provided with a pad spring for resiliently holding the upper portions of the friction pads in pressure contact with the sliding plane of the disc.
In the above-mentioned type of the structure for supporting the friction pads in a disc brake which has been put to practical use in the art, the vertical vibrations of the friction pads are only prevented to some extent by allowing the upper portions thereof to be resiliently retained by a pad spring. However, any horizontal vibrations or movement of the friction pads cannot be avoided by said pad spring, since a space or room has to be left between the sides of the friction pads and the allied bracket or the torque-receiveing portions of the caliper body in the course of production. This was responsible for clanking, brake squealing or local wearing. Especially when braking is effected, the switchover of the brake from the backward to the forward direction and vice versa causes the sides of the friction pads to strike on the torque-receiving portions so that a clanking noise is generated, since no restriction is imposed on the movement of the pads relative to the rotating direction of the disc. Such a noise is then resonant with the overall brake unit and gives a driver an uneasy feeling, thus rendering the brake unit unpreferable.